Did we make history this week? The Rotary Club of Hawthorn is claiming a world-first by inducting a mother and daughter at the same member induction ceremony. The challenge is out to the Rotary world to prove that we were not the first. Irrespective of whether it was history-making, it was indeed a pleasure to induct Carole Lugassy and Joanna Benhamou to the Rotary Club of Hawthorn at last Tuesday’s meeting. They bring to our Club new life, energy and ideas, to say nothing of their delightful French accents.

Hawthorn has now inducted eight new members in the past twelve months, significantly lowering the average age of the Club. With six of these eight new members being female, we have also made significant inroads into the Club’s gender balance. While the addition of eight new members is unquestionably reason to celebrate, we still need to find forty more if we are to replace ourselves. This is your challenge. Find a new member from your vocation to replace you.

Tim Webster, this week’s guest speaker, continued a string of entertaining and engaging meeting presentations. For this, we can thank the ongoing efforts of Jill Weeks. Our speakers, supplemented with the fellowship or our members, the fine food and pleasant ambience of Kooyong Tennis Club make for a very pleasant interlude each week.

Tim’s photographic, historic and anthropological exposé of the Queen Victoria Market underscored the multicultural make-up of Melbourne. This multicultural theme seems to be playing out, again and again, for me this week. At the Hawthorn Town Hall on Tuesday evening, Noel Halford and I witnessed a Citizenship Ceremony for 70 people, hailing from 27 different countries, who have now made their homes in Boroondara and have pledged their allegiance to Australia. Noel and I spoke to several of these new citizens about Rotary. However, Tuesday lunch meetings do not mesh well with the lifestyles of these new citizens; emphasising the importance of the fifth meeting of the month. These monthly evening meetings provide an opportunity for those who are time-poor to find their niche in Rotary.

Thanks to the efforts of Hans Carlborg, the Rotary Clubs of Boroondara had a chance this week to speak with a large number of Swinburne students attending an Employability Conference. We spoke with students who visited the ‘Rotary table’ about the mentoring and networking available to them, and the ‘T-skills’ to be gained through association with Rotary. The majority of students at the conference were international students wanting to work in Australia following their graduation. We were delighted to speak with several young people who have been members of Rotaract Clubs at the colleges and universities they attended in their home countries. Two of these very impressive young people are ready-made Rotarians; having held executive positions in their Rotaract Clubs. Well done Hans - a great initiative.

The multicultural theme climaxes at this coming Sunday’s ‘Welcome Dinner’ lunch for those newly arrived in Australia. The lunch will serve the dual purposes of welcoming and getting to know newcomers to our community, and of promoting Rotary to a diverse group of people.

Writer and Photographer Tim Webster told us about his book, “Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market”, an unprecedented work of oral history, eight years in the making.

His illustrated anthology of the oral histories of the Queen Victoria Market took us behind the counters to reveal intimate views of the market’s unique way of life. Drawn from more than a hundred and eighty interviews, and featuring beautiful and atmospheric photography throughout, “Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market” explores the values and ideas within the city’s heart.

‘When the stallholders have gone home at the end of the day of trade, you can shut your eyes, you look up the aisles and it could be 1923, it could be 1953, it could be 1973…I have memories of people who are no longer here. It’s the people that make the market. It’s the people.‘

Melbourne’s Vic Market is an Australian heritage gem, a place for everyone. For over a century and a half, generations of small traders have embraced the opportunities to make a living at this iconic market, cultivating healthy competition and innovation in an evolving cultural melange.

Tim told us how he researched the history of the market, from the time Hoddle set up the grid for Melbourne, and how it grew to be a hub of fresh fruit and vegetables , and assorted general merchandise. He related how the families identified with the market and how it became an essential part of Melbourne life.

Since 1998, Australia has used sheds as a way to reach men who might otherwise be adrift. The premise is this: The best way to build communities of men is through shared work—the gentle joy of being side-by-side in a shed, working on meaningful projects. The Australian Men’s Sheds Association, as it’s known, has an unofficial motto: “Men don’t talk face to face—they talk shoulder to shoulder.”

So, what is a men’s shed? The requirements are fairly loose—it has to be accessible to all men; create a safe, friendly and healing environment to get things done at one’s own pace; have the objective above all else of improving male members’ well-being and health; and encourage them to be a part of their community. They don’t even have to be in sheds, with garages, portable cabins, and other community buildings providing admirable alternatives.

Over two decades, the organization has blossomed. There are now 985 Men’s Sheds across Australia, reaching an estimated 150,000 individuals. Now, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland are all following suit, to striking effect—according to one recent study, attending a Men’s Shed left men with a sense of belonging, a surge of self-esteem and confidence, and new friendships with people they trusted. More than that, as one 72-year-old noted, “It saved me from an early grave. I was in a right state and this was good for me.”

“The shed’s magnificence is in the infinite possibilities that lie in the imagination of its creator. Your shed can be a monument to the time in your life that you were happiest, or it can signal the start of a new way of being.” — Joel Bird, author of The Book of Shed

To mark the 75th Anniversary of Rotary International, the Club embarked on a project to best harmonise with the establishment of Rotary’s 3H program in the 1979-1980 year.

We planned to foster a refugee family fromVietnam and purchased a house at auction in Survey Street Richmond. The property cost $40,000 and this was funded through fundraising and donations over a number of years.

The first family was Nguyen Duy Ky and Mai Thi Thank Hong and their children who moved in May 1980. One year later the family moved on through their own initiative and Huong and her family of 4 young children took over.

After they moved, the house was sold for $100,000 which formed the basis of what is known as the Survey Street Trust Fund which helps support our efforts in our local community.

Many Club members contributed to the project especially Reg Harris together with Vic Burns, Bill Brown, Bill Young, George Loton and Rodney Taft who worked with the local Uniting Churches to ensure the assimilation of the families.

An enduring source of income was the outcome of supporting new arrivals in our community.

Your donation to The Rotary Foundation helped us raise more than $414 million last Rotary year. Rotarians are hard at work providing opportunities for communities that need our help most. That means more clean water, less disease, and hope for a peaceful world. We couldn't have done it without you!

Our new members, Carole Lugassy and Joanna Benhamou are sure to be confused by Rotary’s alphabet soup of acronyms, RYLA, ROMAC, RYPEN, DIK and so on, and wonder what things like Survey Street Trust are all about. We thank PDG Bernie Walshe for his summary of our Club’s Trust Fund, which is used to provide assistance for some local welfare needs. Please consider contributing to it now or when you next review your wills.

You might be forgiven for thinking that Hawethorn Rotary had found a new home, as several members were spotted at the Court House Hotel in Port Douglas last week.

Ngaire Cannon and Ralph, Ian Hamilton and Val, and Katrina Flinn and Mick were spotted enjoying the ambience. They were either discussing Rotary business, or contemplating the folder in front of Ian Hamilton, which turns out to be the wine list. Missing from the photo are Henry and Jane Drury, who were held up at the beach. Attendance Master Geoff Wright assured The Shadow that no make-ups would be credited.

Members obviously enjoyed Tim Webster’s exposé on the Vicky Market, as we have all enjoyed the products, fruit and veggies from time to time. Amazing though, that author/photographer Tim also has a B.Sc. in Maths and Science in his background. The Shadow envies his photographic expertise. Our own modest photo shows him relaxing before the meeting.

The past, present and future of the club were on display, as PDG Dennis Shore, President Ian Bentlery, Katrina Flinn and Tilak Dissanayake celebrated Rotary Hawthorn’s 65thBirthday at the Auburn Bowling Club..

Where are all the golfers hiding? Poor Noel Halford can’t sleep for worrying about the numbers for the Golf Day on 28th October. Rotarians are slow enough to commit to anything, but apparently Rotarian golfers are even worse. Help Noel get some sleep, by telling him how many golfers you will bring along.

Tuesday 25thSeptember (Grand Final Week)We are delighted to announce that Ray Wilson, a previous Hawthorn Football Club player will be our guest speaker.Wilson, a wingman, made his debut for Hawthorn in 1966 and won that season's best and fairest award. He played on the interchange bench in Hawthorn's 1971 win over St Kilda.Before being recruited by Hawthorn he captained the University Blacks. His son, Tony Wilson, is a writer, broadcaster and compere.This is also the day to wear your footy scarves and beanies to get into the Grand Final spirit!

Following great support last year we will once again invite our fellow Rotary Clubs and others to participate in sponsoring a hole ($250.00) and prizes.

Any assistance you can offer in this area will be greatly appreciated

Competition Format: Ambrose

Monday 29thOctober 2018 from 11.30 a.m

Box Hill Golf Club, 202 Station Street, Box Hill

$95.00 per person that includes a light lunch and a dinner following the event.

This year we have simplified the payment process by using Trybooking.

Proceed to www.trybooking.comand find the event, Boroondara Chances Golf Day 2018 and follow the prompts.

The funds raised will support the Chances Scholarship Program which is a major Boroondara Cares initiative supporting students in the area who are financially or socially disadvantaged.

Drop Anchor in Hamburg

Situated on the Elbe River, Hamburg, Germany, is the third-largest port in Europe, a thriving hub of global trade. The city will host the 2019 Rotary International Convention 1-5 June. Local Rotarians are hard at work planning activities that will help you capture the moment. In the September issue of The Rotarian, you will learn more about what you can expect during your visit to Germany's gateway to the world.

Register by 15 December to take advantage of the early registration discount.

Kim D'Arcy always seeks to finalize numbers by Monday 8.30am by collating responses about attendance at the next meeting. So please try to email back to her by that time; and, at the same time, forewarn of any guests. (Predicting our numbers as closely as possible helps to minimize our catering costs.) kimcco@tpg.com.au